3 great cardgames in one box

Three great classic fast-play German card games in one box. Games are good for three - five players and play in about 20 - 30 minutes. English rules are included.

Muckenstich is a trick-taking card game with four suits, with each suit having cards numbered 1-12 (with two 12s) and three mosquitoes; a mosquito has no number but is the highest card in a suit.

Each round, players start with a number of cards in hand, then discard two of those cards face down. For the most part, Muckenstich follows traditional trick-taking rules. The active player lays down a card, then each other player follows by playing a single card, following suit, if possible. Whenever a mosquito is played, that player declares one color to be trump. (The game starts with no trump color.) A mosquito or 12 played later in the round is considered higher than one played earlier. Once all players have laid down a card, the highest trump card (if any) wins the trick; with no trump, the highest card in the suit led for the round wins the trick. Players keep track of tricks won, and the winner of a trick leads to the next trick.

Once all tricks have been played, the single player with the fewest tricks names one suit to count double during scoring, then the single player with the most mosquitoes names one of the three remaining suits to be worthless. Then players tally their points: The first mosquito in a suit is worth -5 points, while all other mosquitos are worth 0. Suited cards are worth 0-2 depending on whether they are worthless, scored as normal, or doubled.

After a number of rounds equal to the number of players (or twice as many rounds with three players), the player with the highest total score wins.

Zwickern is a public-domain card game of the fishing variety, in which the game starts with a pool of cards on the table and players try to claim these cards for points by using the cards in their hands. Most cards have a single number in the corner to show their value when being played, while some cards have two numbers (e.g., 2/12) and cards like these can be either value when played or when lying on the table; each card also has a victory point value.

On a turn, a player plays one card from her hand and either:

Buys cards from the display (using an 8, for example, to buy a 5 and 3, or an 8, or all three cards)

Builds a pile of cards (by adding or subtracting the card played with a card or pile already on the table, or vice versa)

Plays to the table (making the card available for piles or buys on future turns)

After players play out the few cards in their hand, they receive a few more cards. After a certain number of rounds, the game ends and players sum the points of the cards they've collected, earning additional points for collecting the most cards and for buying all cards on display during a turn. The player with the most points wins.

In Danger, players draw numbered and colored cards, trying to collect as many points as possible in each color each round without exceeding the limit of 15 points.

On a turn, a player draws the top card from the deck and places it in front of her in a row for cards of that color; some cards are multicolor, and the player chooses in which row to play these cards. After laying a second card in the round, a player has the option of securing a row at the end of each turn. To secure a row, the player must not have the lowest total in that color when compared to the other players; the player secures a row by turning the last card in that row 90º. A player can secure only one row each turn.

If a player exceeds a total of 15 points in a row, that row is now blocked and worth 0 points; the player turns those cards face-down.

If a player draws a colored card for a row either secured or blocked, she must discard the card. The next player in turn order has the option of taking this discarded card instead of drawing randomly from the deck.

Once the fourth row of any player is secured or blocked, the round ends immediately. Whoever has the fewest points in a color (with blocked rows worth 0 points) scores nothing for this color; all other players score points equal to the numbers showing in this color in their row. Players then empty their rows and continue playing with the cards remaining in the deck. After five complete rounds, the player with the highest total score wins.